Synthesis of high-purity ultrafine tungsten and tungsten carbide powders
(State Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallurgy, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China)
Abstract: High-purity ultrafine W or WC powder was prepared via a two-step process composed of the carbothermic pre-reduction of WO2.9 and the following deep reduction with H2 or carbonization with CH4+H2 mixed gases. The effects of C/WO2.9 molar ratio and temperature on phase composition, morphology, particle size, and impurity content of products were investigated. The results revealed that when the C/WO2.9 ratio was in the range from 2.1:1 to 2.5:1, the carbothermic pre-reduction products consisted of W and a small amount of WO2. With changing C/WO2.9 ratio from 2.1:1 to 2.5:1, the particle sizes were gradually decreased. In order to prepare ultrafine W or WC powder, a relatively high C/WO2.9 ratio and a lower reaction temperature at this stage were preferred. After the second reaction, the final products of ultrafine W and WC powders with a high purity could be obtained, respectively.
Key words: carbothermic pre-reduction; carbonization; tungsten; tungsten carbide